AFRICA: South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has ordered all government troops to cease fighting rebel forces as part of a peace agreement ahead of a full ceasefire on Saturday.

AMERICAS: Venezuela and Colombia each recalled their ambassadors to the other country on Thursday, amid a diplomatic crisis over two closed border crossings.

ASIA: Emboldened by rare successful one-on-one talks with North Korea on ending a military crisis, South Korea hopes for fresh momentum in efforts to denuclearize the communist neighbor.

EUROPE: Top Supreme Court judge, Vassiliki Thanou, has been appointed Greece’s first female prime minister ahead of early elections next month.

MIDDLE EAST: Syria’s Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front and other rebel groups advanced on Friday towards a military airport that is the last remaining government-held facility in the northwestern province of Idlib, a monitor said.

TECHNOLOGY: With new “video matching technology,” Facebook will let content owners report video clips that belongs to them, and take it down if it’s not supposed to be there.

TOP STORY

Austria: Three people arrested in connection with 71 dead migrants.

Three people have been arrested after dozens of bodies — most likely those of migrants fleeing war-ravaged Syria — were found inside an abandoned truck on an Austrian highway.

The 71 victims comprised of 60 men, eight women and three children.

The victims were probably already dead one to two days when the vehicle crossed into Austria from Hungary, authorities said.

The grisly discovery of the bodies had already cast a shadow over a conference in the Austrian capital, intended to discuss solutions to the migration crisis.

Guatemala: Thousands of protesters have continued to take to the streets of Guatemala’s capital to pressure President Otto Perez Molina to resign over his alleged involvement in a major corruption scandal. (Al-Jazeera)

Venezuela: Hundreds of Colombians are fleeing across the country’s border, running from a crackdown on immigrants initiated by President Nicolás Maduro. (NYT)

ASIA

Region: At least 10 civilians were killed and more than 50 wounded Friday as India and Pakistan traded fire across their disputed border, officials said. (AFP)

Region: South Korean and US troops staged their biggest-ever joint live-fire drill on Friday, including a simulated mechanized assault deep into North Korean territory. (AFP)

Korean Peninsula: Emboldened by rare successful one-on-one talks with North Korea on ending a military crisis, South Korea hopes for fresh momentum in efforts to denuclearize the communist neighbor. (Yonhap)

Malaysia: PM Najib Razak on Friday criticized organizers of a weekend protest demanding his ouster, saying the timing and venue would clash with Independence Day parade rehearsals. (AFP)

Vietnam: The country decided to grant amnesty to 18,298 prisoners ahead of the country’s National Day, according to a decision by Vietnamese president on Friday. (Xinhua)

EUROPE

Germany: German authorities cancelled Friday a party to welcome refugees in the town of Heidenau, saying the public’s safety could not be guaranteed due to a shortage of police. (AFP)

Greece: Top Supreme Court judge, Vassiliki Thanou, has been appointed the country’s first female prime minister ahead of early elections next month. (BBC)

Turkey: The country’s ruling AK Party is not seen winning enough votes to form a single-party government in a 01NOV snap election with only 38.9 percent support. (Reuters)

Ukraine: The Pro-Russian separatists have violated the cease-fire in the country’s east 109 times in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military command claimed on Friday. (EFE)

MIDDLE EAST

Iraq: Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi on Friday ordered military commanders to make it easier for civilians to get into Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone while improving access to streets across the country closed off by political and security factions. (Reuters)

Iraq: An explosion ripped through the parking lot of a Baghdad police station when a police bomb squad tried to defuse a car bomb, killing six and wounding 10. (AP)

Saudi Arabia: The country has announced four more deaths from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), bringing the number of deaths in the past week to 17. (BBC)

Syria: The country’s Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front and other rebel groups advanced on Friday towards a military airport that is the last remaining government-held facility in the northwestern province of Idlib, a monitor said. (AFP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Technology: With new “video matching technology,” Facebook will let content owners report video clips that belongs to them, and take it down if it’s not supposed to be there. (Re/Code)